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Alt-Innsbruck - Eau de Cologne 1953

7.8 / 10 157 Ratings
A popular perfume by Kosmetik R. Neuner for men, released in 1953. The scent is spicy-fresh. It is still in production.
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Main accords

Spicy
Fresh
Sweet
Floral
Powdery

Fragrance Notes

Virginia tobaccoVirginia tobacco MentholMenthol
Ratings
Scent
7.8157 Ratings
Longevity
6.4136 Ratings
Sillage
6.3130 Ratings
Bottle
7.3121 Ratings
Value for money
8.747 Ratings
Submitted by Zoso · last update on 11/12/2025.
Source-backed & verified

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Reviews

17 in-depth fragrance descriptions
Chnokfir

214 Reviews
Chnokfir
Chnokfir
Helpful Review 2  
Like father, like son
For some years now, it is my job as a good son to gift my father with a new after shave on occasions like birthday, Christmas and Father's Day. This is not only because I have a slight affinity with perfumes and have good sources where to buy, but also because my dad does not want to deal with all those current citric and sweet men's fragrances. Most of the modern scents he does not like at all. Something classic it has to be - but please, not every year the same scent! The search had become increasingly difficult over the past 20 years.

In a place that I would never have thought to see a fragrance, at a local Manufactum store, I found Alt-Innsbruck. I had almost overlooked the rather nondescript bottle, had there not been the name on the label and my brain cells in a split second made the connection to Innsbruck as the birthplace of my father. Furthermore, my dear Mr. Papa is only two valse beats older than this fragrance. So, rather as a gag than a real gift, the cologne was acquired - without much testing - as a tester was nowhere to be found. But the first scent molecules which made their way out of the confines of the carton into the open air promised a tart scent of Old School heritage. Hurray!

Simple is the scent presentation - from A to Z. A plain black box, a rectangular glass bottle with a plain top and a yellow gold liquid. An old fashioned sticker in purple and gold with the name "Alt-Innsbruck" and as the only decoration, a small sign of a gold roof, the ever present Innsbruck "Goldenes Dachl" emblem. If you want to spend a few Euros more for the spray pump, you get an impressive rubber ball pump where the dosage is easily controllable. That they still have something like that...!?

The labeling announces what in a few seconds will reach your nose: Alcohol, water, Virginia tobacco, menthol and otherwise nothing! The menthol absolutely takes your breath away if you have not already been in shock how cool your skin has become after this relentless attack. After coming out from that first shock, you try to decipher the composition of this scent. There seems to be alcohol, merciless cold menthol and absolutely nothing else! Only after a while a little tobacco is venturing through and slowly spreading. If it were not for that menthol note, I would be reminded and dreaming of those tobacco fields in the Southern United States, where I spent a few years in my youth, and was getting acquainted with those endless plantations in Virginia, Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee. The fragrance stays bold and fresh with a tart sweetness throughout the whole day.

This scent is anything but subtle, but with the spray pump you can easily control the dosage. If you choose to use this as an after shave, you may give it a thought to weigh your own pleasure against an assault at the sensitive nostrils of your fellow human beings. This fragrance truly wraps around you like a cloud and does not let go until your next shower.

Meanwhile, I also love this fragrance and it is a wonderful and reliable companion year in, year out. Unfortunately, I can only rarely decide to share it with my fellow human beings in the office, in the cinema or the theater. And yet, to even imagine or wish for a "light" version of Alt-Innsbruck? No way.

(Translation: Pipette)
0 Comments
FvSpee

323 Reviews
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FvSpee
FvSpee
Top Review 39  
Colonial Goods IX: Luckily Not Banned Yet
In the long and eventful history of the Indo-European languages, there have been various shifts in consonant sounds, one of the most notable being the divergence from H (e.g., in Greek) to S (e.g., in Latin). Therefore, six is called hex in Greek and sex in Latin (the Greeks, however, had neither boys nor hetaerae called Hex, as far as is known). Furthermore, the Romans seasoned their soups with sal, while the Greeks (and similarly the Celts) used hals. It is assumed that all the German place names with "Hall" originated from the extraction of salt, which makes sense (for example, in Bad Reichenhall).

Also in Hall in Tyrol, about 10 kilometers from the state capital Innsbruck, salt was extracted over the centuries until (probably only after World War II) the saltworks were closed. Around the same time, perhaps even because the founder had to look for a new job after the salt closure, "Kosmetik R. Neuner 66-60" was opened in 1953 in the city center as a small family business for traditional cosmetics (such as foot balms for the hardworking housewife and the exhausted mountaineer). I have not figured out what the strange number combination stands for, but it probably has nothing to do with Hatanism. This company offered two men's fragrances from the very first year, namely "Alt-Innsbruck" (also available in the regular bottle without a pump) and "Strawanza Wiener Schurken," which are recorded here on Parfumo as belonging to two different brands (for whatever reason - the brand "Proderma," which was probably once an internal sub-brand of R. Neuner, no longer exists in my opinion). So, anyone looking for true niche, handcrafted work with tradition is exactly right here. R. Neuner also advertises on its website that the products have been free of animal testing for 50 years because they have always been tested directly on humans. The Tyrolean does it himself.

Actually, I wanted to give Alt-Innsbruck 7.5 points because it has a very simple formulation. It is not a complex scent, and I wanted to leave enough room for the great masterpieces of German spice colognes like "Tabac Original" by Mäurer and Wirtz. But why on earth? Colognes must, well at least they can, be simply constructed. Therefore, I give it 8 points, and none of it is given out of sympathy, because even after three or four hours, a little cloud of it keeps wafting around my nose, and I like it better each time. Almost even more could have been possible.

The cologne (and surely also the aftershave, which is also available) smells exactly like the listed fragrance notes: menthol and Virginia tobacco. In my days as a (cigarette) smoker, I occasionally enjoyed filterless Virginia cigarettes (e.g., Sweet Afton) as well as menthol cigarettes (e.g., Kool); the latter experience the younger generation can no longer have today because that stuff is banned now. From that perspective, I can confirm that the scent is remarkably authentic, smelling of light brown (almost blonde), fresh, moist Virginia tobacco and strongly dosed, yet also light, unobtrusive menthol. Nevertheless, no predominant cigarette associations come to mind for me (certainly not to smoked ones, but not even to unlit ones). This is neither aggressive menthol cold (unlike ICE from 4711, which I find too quirky) nor the herbal warmth of a fireplace. The cool, rather sharp scent of menthol forms a congenial synthesis with the warm, soft tobacco scent, creating something entirely unique, a highly characterful, yet very light, airy, and oddly fresh fragrance that manages to come across as both cooling and warming (also minimally sweet) on the skin. So, a kind of olfactory thermal clothing. Additionally, it comes across as extremely clean and well-groomed (or caring) - almost more creamy (in the very best sense) than barbershop-like; and thus it conveys a sense of security and clarity to the wearer.

I find Alt-Innsbruck to be highly successful, an extremely simple recipe that I hope will never be changed. For my conviction that "Tabac Original" is also wearable by young men, I have already been laughed at several times here. I raise the stakes and say that I can imagine Alt-Innsbruck particularly well on young men and (due to its cheerful lightness) also on young women. This is absolutely not an old man's scent, as true as I am an old man. And when R. Neuner advertises the scent on its website with a picture of a man being approached by a woman in curlers with a seductive smile, I consider that a successful irony.

I am very pleased that I ordered this little water for testing and commenting in this series as a sample, and I will enthusiastically use up the 10 ml; I would even consider a reorder in Hall in Tyrol (albeit without the pump, which is even too intense for me).
24 Comments
Konsalik

86 Reviews
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Konsalik
Konsalik
Top Review 33  
Vacation at the Spa "Sea of Blossoms at the Glacier Pass," or: A Home Movie for Young and Old.
The basic structure of the review was already in place, set to be finalized the following evening, and - well, then a comment about Alt-Innsbruck pops up in my inbox. And not from MaybachClubber93, but from one of the most esteemed writers on this site, FvSpee himself. The analysis is, of course, excellent, informative, rich in connections, a pleasure to read. Hmpf. Fortunately, I perceive Alt-Innsbruck somewhat differently in many respects and also have another ace up my sleeve (keyword: balloon atomizer!). So perhaps not everything is for naught; however, I still wanted to maintain a few weeks of respectful distance, which has now been achieved.

In the comment section under the aforementioned review, the esteemed MonsieurTest rightly wonders about the peculiar design of the label. Pale violet mountain ranges, it must be admitted, do appear somewhat odd and may raise the question for some whether the folks at R. Neuner or Proderma were familiar with the good Albert Hofman in the fifties. But no: In my opinion, the label, in conjunction with the font, gives the viewer an excellent impression of the character of the contents. Explaining this requires a brief lead-in:
Besides menthol, this fragrance is known to primarily consist of a tobacco accord(?). Now, tobacco is a scent component that I have yet to reliably isolate with recurring success and some ease in any(!) fragrance - which should be a walk in the park for me as a long-time smoker of natural pipe tobaccos. After the first sprays from the included balloon atomizer (a spitting, wheezing toy, by the way; not a must-have), I was initially puzzled again: A thoroughly floral, creamy (not powdery!) unisex scent fills the bathroom. Not complex, but very distinct, smelling of my idea of post-war fragrance. A lead crystal bowl full of dried flowers on a lace tablecloth, tending towards the feminine. The menthol note, on the other hand, was almost subdued. To stay in the picture: Only a tin of ice candies from Cavendish & Harvey is opened on the side table.

Somehow I liked it, but tobacco? Over time, it dawned on me: Alt-Innsbruck primarily evokes the delicate pink to vibrant violet flower clusters(!) of the tobacco plant (just consult Google Images)! This finding did not resolve my fundamental identification problem with tobacco in perfumes, but it did completely unlock the present fragrance for me: Nicely cosmetic, a thought of skin cream, violet flowers, and a hint of mountain freshness thanks to the menthol. Hence the complete absence of a scent development, despite quite decent longevity. Alt-Innsbruck was stamped for me as a "wellness" and care product of its time, not a perfume in the conventional sense. Pleasant, but not quite my thing. Seven points.

After a few weeks, the flimsy, coughing one-hole atomizer completely got on my nerves. Unscrewed, back in the packaging, regular cap screwed on: Next time, I’ll just splash it on, whatever. A few days later, after shaving, I remembered that some reviewers declared the EdC suitable for shaving, even insisting emphatically that it works excellently as an aftershave. I'll keep it short: It's true! And not only that: The suddenly much more powerful menthol (my cheeks felt for minutes as if they had just been rescued from Everest) gives the fragrance a distinctly different balance. The floral-violet kidney table softness is pushed back, while the fundamentally creamy impression remains and the coldness of the menthol is relativized (colleague vSpee is right!); the unisex pendulum swings clearly towards "masculine" and my face brightens up. Alt-Innsbruck is not only charmingly sympathetic but timelessly good. The critical threshold for repurchase candidates (which I would place between seven and eight points) has been crossed, and by now, I am no longer just glad to own Alt-Innsbruck for scent archaeological reasons.

One thought remains: Why is it that with some fragrances, a change in the method of application causes such significant differences in scent perception, while others remain almost unaffected? Mysterious. But it's nice that even seemingly simplest fragrances can surprise us so much.
14 Comments
Taurus

1169 Reviews
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Taurus
Taurus
Top Review 21  
No Country For Young Men
The name says it all: a fragrance called Alt-Innsbruck that comes in this outdated bottle can't bring anything innovative. It is definitely conservative down to the smallest detail and makes no secret of it.

It's a shame that it doesn't say when Alt-Innsbruck was first released. I would guess in the depths of the 50s. But I wouldn't be surprised if even Ötzi had wafted away from his Alpine village with it. Moreover, the ingredients menthol and Virginia tobacco are not exactly representative of refined perfumer art.

Anyway - this old man's scent has grabbed me hard, and I'm not even sure why. The menthol is quite intense at the beginning.
After that, it gets relatively sweet, which I would probably attribute to the Virginia tobacco. But I can't imagine that these two simple ingredients are all there is.
In any case, curious things unfold in Alt-Innsbruck…

My first encounter with it was at Manufactum in Düsseldorf. There are some fragrance compositions to admire that you wouldn't have thought possible or that seem to have been taken from a perfume museum. Anyone looking to find something far from the mainstream should take a look here.

In any case, Alt-Innsbruck immediately captivated me there.

Maybe it's some memories that I unconsciously associate with it.

Maybe I've become too old for new fragrances by now.

Maybe I will get this fragrance and make a fool of myself with it.

Maybe my friends, family, strangers, relatives, acquaintances, neighbors, and colleagues will turn away from me.

Maybe the Parfumo community will no longer take me seriously and even ostracize me.

Maybe I'm overthinking it - but Alt-Innsbruck is the fragrance whose spray I have sniffed with delight time and again in the last few months, and it has sent me home with a sense of well-being.
20 Comments
MarkusH

102 Reviews
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MarkusH
MarkusH
Top Review 16  
Plagued by prejudices.....Surprised by fresh coolness.....Enthralled by the scent.....Declared a favorite...
Alt-Innsbruck is my first Eau de Cologne that I have in my collection and it is completely justified! I pondered for a long time whether Alt Innsbruck was for me, as the fragrance pyramid is quite manageable. The thought of Tabac Original by Mäurer & Wirtz was of course obvious to me. Tabac Original is by no means a bad scent and has accompanied me through my childhood, but I didn't really want the same fragrance under a different name, so that was my thought. So I started to read the comments and lo and behold, there was no hint of Tabac Original. Instead, I could read something like refreshing and chewing gum. So, at a price of under 20 euros, one can certainly make a blind buy, as I am usually not so squeamish with this type of purchase. Said and done, it should now be the splash bottle, as the ball pump seemed a bit too expensive to me. Order placed and then the long wait began because the Yellow Angels of DHL were not in a hurry with deliveries at that time. After a loooong week, the Yellow Angels finally took pity and delivered my long-awaited package.
My grin stretched from ear to ear and my eyes sparkled like a little child on Christmas morning. Eagerly, I tore open the package, which I can hardly understand, as Alt Innsbruck stands out completely compared to other fragrances, but maybe that's exactly why. When I held the packaging in my hand, I was surprised and delighted to find that the spray nozzle was indeed included, all for a price of 18 euros.
So, cap off and spray nozzle on. Psh psh and the first drops of Alt Innsbruck moisten my skin and, to my surprise, do not release anything of what I had imagined.
The first scent I could perceive was like that slightly sweet Nag Champa note that was also perceived as a chewing gum note in the previous comment. I was prepared for everything but not for that. A fragrance that does not come across as stale or dusty but fresh with a sweet touch. This wonderful freshness, which cools my skin beautifully due to the contained menthol, is by no means so dominant that the sweet Virginia tobacco is overshadowed.
My enthusiasm shot to unforeseen heights as this scent simply goes deliciously and coolly and does not merely exhibit the hint of the Tabac I know.
A very very very beautiful fragrance for the hot season, as already mentioned, the contained menthol cools the skin and the tobacco note is by no means heavy or intrusive.
A fragrance that can also be happily used by women because I find it anything but too masculine. "AI" knows how to impress with its simplicity and has proven that it doesn't take much to be a good product. Sillage and longevity are above average for an Eau de Cologne and appropriate for the product.
I can only recommend Alt Innsbruck to anyone who wants to try something fresh and extraordinary compared to the otherwise rather citrusy fresheners.
3 Comments
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Statements

43 short views on the fragrance
42
42
A strong menthol-fresh mint gum that clears the nose & throat. Followed by small, spicy, coumarin-sweetened aftershave tobacco leaves. Great!
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42 Comments
39
34
Koala Tobacco
Virginia Leaf
Men's powder drifts
Where the woodruff moss blooms
In the backseat of an Opel Kadett
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34 Comments
30
43
Tobacco and menthol, an almost soapy vibe, spicy, subtly smoky, more venerable than traditional and almost essential.
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43 Comments
24
22
Menthol cigarettes gum
super fresh breeze
blows the alpine flowers
out of the beard
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22 Comments
23
19
Herbaceous tobacco has bitter nuances - crowned with beautifully subtle sweet undertones, ending with a smoky-sweet finish/ Menthol cools gently.
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19 Comments
21
19
Like a Limahl poster
from the 80s
Smoothly shaved mint cool
a hint of wicked tobacco
and sweet to look at
Move a little closer
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19 Comments
15
13
Bright-fresh and slightly floral, with a dark-fresh, distinctive base, this is a wonderfully old-school Cologne for the gentleman.
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13 Comments
14
10
A fragrant ray of light in the perfume shelf. Strongly menthol at the start. It cools down a lot. Great. Then it becomes more masculine. The tobacco ...
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10 Comments
11
9
Little menthol, lots of coumarin, very sweet.
Authentic perfumed Virginia tobacco.
A price wonder! Great!!
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9 Comments
11
1
Ideal for the first ascent... For seasoned climbers over 70. 'Freshly shaved on the rock'.
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